• View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - ONE FOR SORROW

    ONE FOR SORROW

    Our ancestors had many different ways of trying to predict the future and telling other people's fortunes. They studied the bones, guts and other parts of dead animals – or even those of their slain opponents in battle. They stared deep into flames, waves and clouds for inspiration, and they did other things that I can't even mention in a family-friendly blog like this one. I bet that, even if they were…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - WHO NEEDS CARROTS?

    WHO NEEDS CARROTS?

    You and I are mostly diurnal by nature. That means that we do most of day-to-day living in the hours of sunlight. If we were mainly active at dawn and dusk and resting when our surroundings are fully light or dark we could be described as having a crepuscular lifestyle. For many of us, diurnal and crepuscular will be new terms, but I suspect that we've all heard of the third alternative; nocturnal.…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - NOCTURNAL THRILLS

    NOCTURNAL THRILLS

    Here in South Yorkshire's Dearne Valley we've been lucky enough to witness visits by many Heron species over the years. Grey Herons, Little Egrets and our beloved Bitterns are year-long residents at our reserves and it's not unusual for us to give temporary home to Great Egrets and, increasingly, Spoonbills too. A Cattle Egret has been enjoying the company of the cows on our Adwick Washlands site recently…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - AM I A RESPONSIBLE ADULT?

    ARE YOU A RESPONSIBLE ADULT?

    When my nephew was very young I tried to take him into a shop but he paused at the doorway and would go no further. 'I can't go in there, Uncle Shaun', he said. When I asked why not he just raised his little arm and pointed at a sign on the shop doorway.

    Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.”

    Funny, for a six year old. Apparently I wasn't responsible…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - THE HOKEY COKEY

    THE HOKEY COKEY

    Over the last few weeks we've had a lot of unusual visitors to our little patch of heaven here in Barnsley. Not the human visitors, they're always welcome, be they usual or otherwise. No, I mean the birds that have been to see us, the ones that we don't usually encounter in this part of the world. They've been here one minute, gone the next, then turning up at another stretch of water along the Valley…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun FInnie - CAN YOU HEAR ME AT THE BACK?

    CAN YOU HEAR ME AT THE BACK?

    It's a weird fact that you cannot lick your own elbow. You're probably trying to disprove it right now. Don't bother. Unless you're a contortionist, you won't manage it. If you really want to find out how elbow skin tastes, ask a friend. Just don't expect them to stay friends with you afterwards.

    Another strange biological fact is that no bird has visible ears. Even…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - WHEN HARRY MET MARSHA

    WHEN HARRY MET MARSHA

    Marsh; (noun) a wet, boggy environment.

    Harry; (verb) to annoy or pester.

    Marsh Harrier; (noun) a large bird of prey that lives in a wet, boggy environment and annoys or pesters small creatures to death.

    That last definition may be my own but it's fairly accurate and I'm pleased enough with it. Let's try again, only this time let's make things a bit more personal.

    Marsha; from Mars…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

    5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

    Whether it's the old-school puppet version or the more recent animated reboot, most of us will have enjoyed the classic 'Thunderbirds' TV show at some time in our lives. As I child (and a bigger man-child) I remember being thrilled when, after the suspenseful countdown, the huge ships would take off and slowly but surely power into the sky. I know I don't look it but I'm old enough to remember…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - RINGO'S OUR STAR

    RINGO'S OUR STAR

    Once upon a time there were Four Lads Who Shook the World. They were, in their day, the four most famous people on the planet. One of them took the name 'Ringo' as he famously sported unusual rings. If none of this means anything to you then I'm guessing that you're under forty. Get an old person to explain it to you.

    Once upon a different time there was a drake Ring-Necked Duck with…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - WHAT'S IN A NAME?

    WHAT'S IN A NAME?

    I love Chickadees. They're small, colourful and terribly inquisitive, always on the move and sticking their little beaks into everything. Here in Britain we have six (not eight – I'll come to that later) birds in this Paridae family. We don't call them Chickadees though, that's their American name. In other parts of the English speaking world they refer to them as Titmice. Here, they're simply Tits…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - CAN YOU DIG IT?

    CAN YOU DIG IT?

    I find it amazing that thousands of bird species have evolved in such a way that each fills a particular gap in the food chain. Their size, weight, colouration, feet, digestive system... these and every other part of their bodies, great and small, make every single one of them a perfect fit for the natural niche in which they live. And as the world around them changes, so they change with it. For example…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - AN ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE

    AN ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE

    George Bernard Shaw (not Winston Churchill, to whom the quote is often attributed) was fond of saying that “England and America are two countries separated by a common language”. This is true, and their peoples often have different views too. For example, Americans generally see 100 years as being a long time, while their English counterparts sometimes think that 100 miles is a long way. Being English…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - WAKEY, WAKEY!!!

    WAKEY, WAKEY!!!

    All animals have a basic need to communicate with others of their species. Some communicate using colours, others make simple basic sounds. Some even talk to each other via the medium of interpretive dance. You've got to love a waggling bee.

    We humans have developed a huge vocabulary of speech with more subtle nuances than you can shake a gesticulating stick insect at. Add our body language and facial…

  • Old Moor Start of Season Dragonfly Report by David Pritchard

    Dragonfly report 20/4/2023

    As you drive past woods around us, you'll notice that the bluebells are now in full swing. It's a beautiful time of year to be in England. It also usually means that there's only about one-to-two weeks until we start seeing Damselflies start to appear at Old Moor.

    So to whet your appetite, let's look at my season highlights from 2022.

    We kick-started the calendar with a pond…

  • Wellbeing Workshops

    Step into your Natural Calm with our Wellbeing Workshops

     

    last years wellbeing workshop

     

    This year we are delighted to bring you an exciting set of Wellbeing Workshops, in the beautiful setting of RSPB Old Moor. Each one will help you to tap into the wonders of the changing seasons, as well as teaching you how to stay calm, positive and happy throughout the ups and downs of the year.

    The workshops are being guided by…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - NEW SEASON, NEW LIFE

    NEW SEASON, NEW LIFE

    Have you finished all your Easter eggs yet? I know that this celebration of new life was only a couple of weeks ago so some of you might still have a chocolaty treat or two lying around but I bet most of you have snarfed them up long ago. There are certainly none left in my house.

    Easter may now be a full calendar page behind us but most birds in the natural world are yet to move on to the business…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - WHITE, FEATHERY AND OVERLOOKED

    WHITE, FEATHERY AND OVERLOOKED

    If you've ever seen me at RSPB Old Moor's Welcome Shed then you'll know that I'm rarely seen there without a big, wide-brimmed Tilley on my head. In fact I've only accidentally left it at home once. I felt naked without it, and that's not good for anybody. I do like a good hat. Some might say it's a bad hat or even a ridiculous one. It's certainly an expensive one. But one thing that I could…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - VIENETTA ON STILTS

    VIENETTA ON STILTS

    If you've read any of these blogs before then you'll know that I love the unusual names, both ancient and modern, that people give to birds. I find it wonderful that there are so many different ways to name any particular bird and that someone, somewhere in the country will know precisely to what you are referring. And all these names are just as valid as each other so long as the other party understands…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - ICE, ICE, BABY

    ICE, ICE, BABY

    ...or “What I Did On My Holidays by Volunteer Shaun, aged 57 and 3/4”

    At the time of writing I'm waiting for a flight home from Iceland. My holiday has been absolutely wonderful although I could have lived without the ridiculous 65mph winds. Even the local people, who are used to high winds coming straight down from the Arctic, admitted that this was a little blustery. I struggled to walk forwards…

  • View From The Shed by Alvin Hickling - VIEW FROM THE ARCHIVIST

    VIEW FROM THE ARCHIVIST

    Hi everyone. If you were expecting one of Shaun's blogs then you are probably disappointed. He's unavailable at the moment so has asked me to step in as Guest Blogger for the week. My name's Alvin and I regularly inhabit the very same "Welcome Shed" as Shaun, but that is about where the similarities between us end. As far as birds are concerned we would be placed at the opposite ends of the knowledge…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - WHERE IS CASPIA, ANYWAY?

    WHERE IS CASPIA, ANYWAY?

    I've written about gulls before. It's safe to say that I'm not a fan of them. I know that nature exists outside of the laws, rules and emotions that we place upon each other so there's no way that any creature can be seen as good or bad, virtuous or evil. They all exist simply to exist and to propagate their species. But if I were to anthropomorphise gulls then I'd have to give them some of…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun FInnie - OUT OF THE SUN

    OUT OF THE SUN

    Being an RSPB Welcome Desk volunteer means that I'm actually at my local reserve (in my case that's Old Moor in the Dearne Valley) more frequently than I might otherwise be. I've committed to standing at the entrance to the reserve and talking to our visitors for a set number of days per week, and I love it. As a friend of mine once said, “You get to pretend that you're presenting 'Springwatch', talking…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - SCHRODINGER'S OTTER

    SCHRODINGER'S OTTER

    I'm in danger of going all philosophical this week. Let's start with a simple question and take it from there...

    If there's an otter (or more) on the RSPB Old Moor reserve but nobody ever sees it, does it really exist? This theoretical query became reality for me at the Old Moor Welcome Shed this week.

    We've known that Otters have been visiting the reserve for well over a year now…

  • View From The Shed by Shaun Finnie - WHERE HAVE ALL THE WADERS GONE?

    WHERE HAVE ALL THE WADERS GONE?

    The RSPB handbook is a free gift given to all members when they join the organisation. The book tells you details of each RSPB site around the country and what birds you might see when you visit. Really old copies said, under the section about Old Moor and the Dearne Valley, that one of our regular highlights was up to 10,000 Golden Plover that would visit each year.

    That was then. This…

  • View From The Shed by Volunteer Shaun - GOING A BIT OFF PISTE

    GOING A BIT OFF PISTE

    Normally my basic ideas for one of these blogs starts with some oblique reference to a bird that has been seen in my local Dearne Valley patch this week. Then my thoughts meander wherever they will for a bit and I finally sit down to the work of bashing that mess of ideas into something that I hope is vaguely entertaining, informative and somewhere under a thousand words.

    This week is different.…